Palestine
Someone wrote - “…but it was Israel before Islam even existed…”
Perhaps, but it was in Canaanite hands before that (in the Bronze Age) and Israel was part of the country occupied by that tribe whereas Judah and the Philistine tribes occupied other sectors of the region, this during the Iron Age.
So who really had claim to the region at that time? The tribe of Israel, Judah or Philistine?
What had happened to the Canaanites? What about their prior occupation? Were they the true owners.
Then came the Assyrians who conquered the whole shebang followed in time by the Babylonians, the Persians and Alexander the Great whereupon a stark Hellenisation of the region occurred. Was it still Israel then? If so, how and why?
Alexander later relinquished sovereignty to the Hasmonean Kingdom which was, in turn eventually subsumed as a vassal state of Rome.
Admittedly thereafter followed the Muslim conquest which itself fell to the Christian Crusaders, becoming the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Not for long. The Ayyubid Sultanate reconquered the region, or was it the Egyptian Mamluks or both, becoming thereafter the Ottoman Empire’s state right through to the 20th century.
After World War II came the Balfour Declaration when the British recaptured Palestine back from the Ottoman Empire, whereupon the then League of Nations (forerunner to the UN) granted Britain mandatory power over the land.
2 years later in 1947, following the formation of the UN, the 2-party state was declared (albeit the resolution was never formally or legally ratified) where sovereignty, individual and religious autonomy were condition of establishment. This was rejected by the Arabs but embraced by the Jews who moved in illegally and settled areas where previously Palestinian Arabs and Christians had lived, this in stark contravention of the spirit of the UN mandate. Effectively, Palestinians were thus marginalised and have been so ever since where they have subsisted under an apartheid regime where religious and cultural autonomy is actively suppressed.
This all begs the question - who actually can claim legitimate ownership over the region?
In this synopsis, the Canaanites. But do they even exist?
And for the most part thereafter, this region has quite squarely become nothing more nor less than the spoils of war.
The fleeting barrage of revolving-door “owners” can’t seem to manage or retain it peacefully for any length of time nor exist in harmony as co-dependent residents. It has always to revert to a conflict in the region, atrocities being the order of the day.
In this latest debacle, I take no sides. Why would anyone?
But given the obvious political manipulation that has been manifest in this region for as long as we can remember, the decades of Palestinian disenfranchisement, subjugation and suppression, not to mention the skewed mainstream narratives that accompany any war - the Gulf Wars (invasions), the proxy disingenuous Ukrainian shitshow - every one really - I have little doubt that this current “atrocity” was engineered to shape public opinion toward one specific outcome.
And that doesn’t have Palestinians at its heart, that’s for sure.
On and off, they’ve occupied the region for longer than the Zionists so does that give them a greater claim over the land? Who knows? By what means are these things measured? White Australians have been illegally occupying the great red continent for generations now but do they truly own it? The Aboriginals don’t think so but that hasn’t stopped old whitey. And so it goes.
Where are the Canaanites, tribe Judah and Philistine now?
Given the might and sophistication of the Israeli defence force it’s unlikely they’ll be challenged for the land any time soon, besides, the US and UK et-al have strong vested interests in that regime in any event. They’re not going to rock the boat. And Hamas, the scapegoat knows all of this. They’re fucked, always have been, always will be.
If anything, this will serve to obliterate any Palestinian opposition whatsoever and reduce their representation to such a degree, nobody will remember them in a few decades time.
None of it is right or justifiable but if there had ever existed a quid-pro-quo alliance between Palestinian and Anglo-American leadership, there would have been a very different history in Palestine since 1947.
The Zionist have much to answer for but they never will, except perhaps when they unpack their life’s sins on the scales of justice at final judgement. Only then might they admit it could have and should have been done differently.
I do not condone violence or war but if one looks at the bellicose legacy above, that is how this region has existed for all of its history.
Whoever said history never repeats, was a fool and a liar. It’s the likeliest narrative.
Who will be the one to end it and create a peaceful and just state founded at first on humanitarian precepts rather than one that is premised on a singular dogma? Take the religious emblem off the flag and the military boots off the city streets, work side by side in the kibbutzes and embrace your commonality above all else.
It will never happen as long as there’s a desire to dominate.
And that’s just how it is.
Sadly.
these people have forgotten what peace is. May be the land should be emptied completely, after all it is not that big, the government sent home, and all the people dispersed. Lots of them come from elsewhere anyway. A country of 70 years old is not yet historic. Just like many countries in Europe, f.i. Belgium, which exists 200 years, but before that was in everyone elses yard... the dutch and french speaking do get along don't they? and all the immigrants that have since moved in - italian, turkish, romanian, syrian, you name it. May be not everyone is happy with it, and of course there are quarrels, mostly when gangsters from elsewhere make it their home. And look at former Yougoslavia - too much difference made the country fall apart. Thankfully Czechoslowakia (and thank Havel) managed to separate peacefully. Why can the middle East not do that? No history of peace maybe?